WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue started 1-5 and didn’t talk much about a bowl game.

The Boilermakers are 3-5 now and need to win three of their final four to earn consideration.

“They can do the math,” coach Danny Hope said Tuesday. “They read.”

Hope said confidence is high after the team’s first back-to-back regular-season wins since the middle of the 2007 season.

“I think we are gaining some momentum as a football team, and we are probably the best we have been all season long right now in all three phases,” he said.

The defense has shown perhaps the most improvement. The Boilermakers held Ohio State to 18 points and Illinois to 14.

Hope said defensive backs Brandon King , Dwight Mclean , Torri Williams and David Pender have played well.

On offense, the Boilermakers re-established a dormant running game and ran for 220 yards against Illinois, their second-best total of the season.